Virus
by Unfulfilled-dreams
Summary: Kyo is sick. Not Cough cough sick, sick in a way that no one in the Sohma family has ever seen. Character death. Graphic sickness.
1. Blood is always thicker than tears

Ug.. I re-wrote this first chapter, cause it was so horribly written! So here is the improved version. Oh and hello people, I am Tony! I hope you all enjoy, and I will look forward to whatever you have to say!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYuki gently ran ointment-coated fingers along the broad expanse of Kyo's shoulders and back; the thick white paste smelled strongly of chemicals, and burned the hair in Yuki's nose. This was not something Yuki had chosen to do; it was something he had to do. The chemical-tang was much too strong for Shigure, the dog had to stay at least three rooms away, or suffer a sever headache; and Tohru was gone for another few weeks.

Yuki sneezed, hand involuntarily moving forward and colliding with Kyo's back. The smell was becoming too strong even for the rat; his sinuses were reacting more and more violently with each application. But, even with all of its negative effects they still had to use it. As far as they knew it was the only thing helping the large red welts that were appearing all over the cat's body.

"Not so hard, damn rat..." Kyo hissed, the pain from Yuki harsh treatment showing through his tough demeanor. Yuki lightened the pressure he was putting on Kyo's backside, and tried to apply the ointment more smoothly. Even with all of his grace it was hard for Yuki to ghost his fingers over the pustules. It felt as though small rocks were scattered over the expanse of Kyo's back. Yuki shuttered as he thought of the rash when it was uncovered.

Some of them were uncovered, allowing the sometimes clear puss to be seen, others had a small layer of scab over them, causing them to be harder than the others. The only thing Yuki could compare it to was the chicken pox. Even that comparison want adequate. Chicken Pox did randomly pop and spew banana-pudding-colored puss down your back.

"I'm sorry… Tohru would usually do this… I'm not used to it."

In fact, Yuki mused inwardly, Tohru usually did everything. In the four days since Tohru had left he had noticed the sheer drop in sanitation, food, and everything else.

Tohru and her friends had left for the beach. A little "girls trip away-from-all-the-problems-you-cause-her!", as Ayame had put it. It wasn't originally planned that the girls would go alone, Kyo and Yuki were supposed to accompany Tohru, Uo, and Hana. But due to Kyo's sickness, and Akito's order that Yuki would stay behind, forced the boys to be left behind.

Yuki glared at the now pasty white sheen layering the cat's back. How could a simple fever have come to this?

Kyo had come down with a fever five days ago. It wasn't anything to serious, only 100, two degrees hotter than normal. In fact Yuki wouldn't have noticed at all if there hadn't been a yelling (on Kyo's part), fretting (on Tohru's) match going on in the Kitchen when he had been getting ready to leave for school. Tohru was getting ready to cancel her plans, when Kyo had stopped her by saying he would only rest if she went. Tohru had agreed and had gone to school, a worried look plastered on her face.

Yuki gave Kyo's shoulder a squeeze, signaling the fact that he was finished applying the ointment. With a small sigh of pain Kyo lowered his shirt down over the swellings, and let it drop. Immediately the thin cloth stuck to the moist ointment, and Kyo twitched noticeably. The orange haired youth glanced quickly at Yuki, already making his way for the open bedroom door.

"Thanks…. I guess." He said gruffly, and shot through the arch and out of Yuki's sight.

Yuki glared at the open space where he had been and caped the small ointment jar. Yuki shook his head, even if Kyo was still as idiotic and ride as ever, he couldn't bring himself to stay mad at him. How could a person stay mad at some one going through so much pain that it kept them from doing the things they loved?

That rash… it hurts him bad enough to keep him from training… What did Hatori call it? 

Yuki thought for a moment before the word came rushing back to him "maculopapular rash"

Hatori had said that they were a form of "maculopapular rash". He had given them the ointment in hopes that it would help to reduce them, and Kyo had to be given a shot for scarlet fever. Hatori had said that it was the most likely cause of the rash and fever, though he had no idea where Kyo could have contracted it. It seemed to Yuki that all the ointment was doing was slightly reducing the pain, and stinking up the house.

Yuki sighed and turned away from the door. He set the capped jar down on the windowsill, and gazed blankly down at the green, trim grass of the back yard. His thoughts backtracked, trying to connect Kyo's illness to anything that had happened in the last few days. His memory unearthed nothing, but thoughts soon lead back into the days right after Tohru's departure.

Other than being a little weak and having a sever headache, Kyo had seemed fine the day she left. So Tohru had gone, wishing them a fond farewell and told them she would be back in two weeks. That had been four days ago, four very long days ago.

Unknown to the departing Tohru, and the begrudging teen boys forced to stay together in her absence; Kyo's illness would not be something any of them would ever forget.

Only a day after Tohru's trip had begun, Kyo's illness worsened. His fever remained the same, but the welts had made their first appearance. It had started at a reddish "smear" across The cat's back, everyone had joked it was a bruise, until it turned in to horrible oozing bumps.

With out a word Shigure had taken him to see the Sohma doctor, Hatori. The raven-haired doctor had only prescribed an ointment for the bumps, and had declared that they were simply the measles. An angry Kyo had been given a shot for them, and told to apply the ointment twice daily until the virus had left his body.

Although the cat had stuck very fastidiously to the doctor's orders, the large welts still remained on his back. If Yuki didn't know any better, he would say the other teen was actually getting worse.

They had taken him back, hoping Hatori would notice something he had missed before, but the doctor had no insightful information for them. He had insisted there was almost nothing more from him to do, and after some persuasion, had given Kyo a shot for scarlet fever.

Yuki turned his focus from the grass to his reflection, trying to rid himself of the worried thoughts he held for Kyo. He noted and realized that Kyo's color was off as well. The other boy's skin was at least three shades lighter than Yuki's own. With a shake of his head, Yuki assured himself that nothing bad would happen to the other Sohma. Nothing bad could happen to the stubborn cat, he was too… stubborn to allow some sickness get him down!

As if to prove him wrong, a scream echoed down the hall.

With out a moment's hesitation Yuki was on his feet. His lean legs carrying him quickly down the corridor to where he had heard Kyo's terrified shrieks.

Yuki dropped his shoulder, making sure that when he connected with the door it would shatter. If the teen was truly in trouble he didn't have time to test and see if the door was unlocked.

With a terrific bang the door gave in under the impact of the silver-haired boy's body. It swung open, revealing Kyo leaned over the bathroom toilet. With a faint whimper he turned his face to Yuki, horror arranging his face into a twisted mask.

Yuki felt his heart stop. Red liquid fell from Kyo's mouth, and filled the toilet. Even more of the fluid was spattered on the porcelain of the seat. Drips from the smooth rim of the bowl had fallen to and stained the carpet that was set decoratively on the light tiled floor.

"Kyo-" Yuki began to question, but a hysterical sob from Kyo froze his voice.

"Blood", the teen whimpered, body rocking forwards and back on planted knees. Blood soaked hands held slightly in front of his face, shielding his eyes.

"Oh shit…its blood… fucking… SHIT..."

Yuki flew forward, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around the other Sohma.

His mouth ran, mixing his previous hysterical statement with attempts of calming ones.

"Its… shit... it's ok… it's… shit… GET UP… shit no don't Sorry… Hatori we're going to Hatori!"

Kyo stumbled to his feet, Yuki half dragging him up. Terror surged through Yuki's body. He was sure, if they didn't get Kyo help, he would die.

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Woooo sickness.

Don't own Fruits basket… or the mystery virus… if I did… then I would be dead…Umm, yeah I'm not all that happy with the way this is arranged, so if anyone could help me out it'd be great!

Tony


	2. Pain is only the begining

Wow, umm I guess I am accident-prone.. For those of you who don't know, I hurt my back really badly snowboarding this winter. Well Friday, August the 24, I wrecked on my dirk bike (flipped over the handles in to a tree) and broke my jaw. But well chapter 3 is halfway done!

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The entire trip out of the house was only a blur to Yuki. Everything had happened in a sort of chaotic-but-well-planned-way. Shigure had come into the bathroom about 50 seconds after Yuki had, also drawn by Kyo's screams. The only difference was Shigure's reaction; it was much more productive than Yuki's. With one swift motion the other Sohma had grabbed a towel, wrapped the still petrified Kyo up, and shoved him into Yuki's arms. Then he had run down stairs, screaming for the other two to follow, to get in the car.

Yuki's legs had followed the orders, though his mind was still reeling, replaying the gristly scene of the bathroom over and over in his head. In retrospect it was amazing he had even made it down the staircase. It proved that the human body was a terribly wonderful thing, even when the mind wouldn't work, the legs could still function perfectly.

Yuki looked down at the now sleeping Kyo. The blood had stopped, it seemed as though it was only a strange dream now. If not for the bloodied towel, the bloodstains on his pants and the thin coating of blood around Kyo's mouth, he could have believed that it was.

"How is he doing Yuki?"

Said boy's head shot up at the sound of Shigure's tension strained voice. The older man's knuckles were white, his fingers tightly grasped around the wheel of the car. his mouth, from what Yuki could see, was tight; Lips pressed together to form a straight line.

Ignoring the question, Yuki looked back down at Kyo, and ran his fingers gently through the orange locks adorning his face. In a motherly fashion he took the corner of the towel Kyo was wrapped in and dabbed it at the blood, effectively wiping it away.

Yuki turned his head to the window, eyes desperately trying to latch on to something to look at, something to make his mind think about. It he could just have something to stare at, to concentrate on other than the bleeding teen in his lap… But the lush vegetation proved to hard to follow, his eyes simply couldn't hold on to the blurred green patches.

_Just like Kyo and his life... heh… he can't hold on to that either._

Yuki glared, this was no time to be acting like this. This mixture of pity and loathing wouldn't suffice for this situation. Kyo could be dying...

In fact, they hadn't checked to see if the other Sohma was still alive, he could already be dead.

Yuki's hand shot out from under the sleeping Kyo, coming to rest just under his nose. For a moment Yuki was sure there was nothing, that Kyo was dead-

-Then, a small puff of air grazed his hand.

Yuki let his head fall back. His worries were for nothing, Kyo was fine.

"Yuki!"

He jumped, and looked at Shigure. Their eyes locked, Shigure was looking at him, obviously awaiting the answer Yuki had neglected to give him earlier.

"He's just sleeping."

With a nod Shigure turned back around, and began to drive again. Yuki vaguely wondered how he would tell Tohru, how she would react. He felt the corners of his mouth twitch. The images that flashed through his mind were enough to momentarily take his mind off the teen in his lap.

He could see her now, carrying soup, rice, bread, anything Kyo could possibly need, all over the house. He could even see her tight-lipped worried, but determined expression. The same look she had worn when his bronchial attack had happened during the endurance run that winter.

Kyo moved on Yuki's lap. Small mumbles rose to Yuki's ears as the other Sohma stirred.

"Where... are we?"

Kyo's voice was weak, all threatening edges it used to hold gone. Yuki looked down, allowing his eyes to hold a reassuring gleam.

"We're in the car. We're taking you to Hatori."

With a faint nod Kyo looked away, eyes closing immediately.

Yuki let his hopeful pretense fall away. His heart ached; Kyo's eyes had held nothing but pain, and terror. For the second time in only minutes Yuki swore Kyo was already dead.

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When they finally reached Hatori's house, only minutes after Yuki and Kyo's conversation, the orange haired teen began to again, spit up blood. Yuki panicked, this was not something he was very good at. Saving lives would never be anything he was good at.

"Shigure! Kyo is-"

With a powerful swoop, Shigure swept Kyo into his arms and headed straight to the large gate marking the beginning of Hatori's estate. Yuki stumbled out of the car after him, legs having lost all grace and poise as he blindly followed the orange bob of Kyo's hair.

Yuki entered the house just in time to see Hatori hurry over to Shigure. His voice was calm, as was his face. Both expertly hiding the apprehension Yuki could feel surrounding him.

"Take him to the back, I have a table set up for him."

Shigure obliged, and Yuki realized he was getting the feeling that he was useless an abnormal amount that day.

_What do you expect? Twice today someone has needed you, and twice you have failed them. If it weren't for Shigure, You would still be standing there, watching Kyo die._

"Yuki! For the last time, go and get a bowl of hot water!"

Shigure's tense voice cut through his thoughts, anger surging through each word as it was over annunciated.

With a curt nod Yuki ran to the kitchen. The bowl was already sitting on the plain black marble counter, a damp washcloth lying at its bottom. Yuki hurried across the room, the small squeak of his shoes deafening in the stillness of the desolate kitchen.

With shaky hands he scooped the clear plastic into his arms, and carefully balanced it on the ledge separating the two sink basins. He pulled the nozzle, and closed his eyes, reveling in the strange calm the came with the rush of the water. It took only seconds for the bowl to fill, and Yuki was soon on his way to Hatori's examination room, walking slowly to avoid the inevitable splatter from the rim of the container.

He pushed the thin door open with his back, immediately sensing the tightness in the air as he entered.

Kyo lay on a table, small trickles of blood flowing from his mouth, horrible tremors racked his body, sending the majority of the crimson around the cat's mouth to spatter the inhabitants of the room.

Shigure held fast to the flailing teens body, trying desperately to keep him from doing any more damage to himself. Hatori was swabbing a section of skin on Kyo's upper arm. A needle shined menacingly on the medical stand next to the bed.

"Hold him Shigure! If he moves to much…"

Instead of finishing the thought, Hatori quickly, but gently, inserted the needle into a temporary still Kyo. With a sigh the doctor moved away, shaking his head slightly as he moved to a cupboard.

" The Librium should help him sleep," he paused turning to look at the two anxious Sohma's, "I'm going to request you leave the room. Ill be in here."

The tone of his voice left Yuki no room to quarrel. He left immediately, secretly thanking Hatori for taking over responsibility.

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Yuki had sat alone in the living room for what felt like only a few seconds before Momji came bursting through the distant front door, happily shouting his arrival to Hatori. Yuki pointed his head in the direction he believed Momiji was coming from, willing the small teen to shut up.

Naturally, the noise didn't cease.

The small patter of feet announced the searching boy, long before Yuki saw him. Momiji came dancing around the corner, a grin plastered across his face.

"AH! Yuki-kun! Guten tag!"

Yuki saw Shigure twitch from the corner of his eye. From anger or worry he couldn't tell. But for him, Momiji's happiness was like a break in clouds.

With a small skip-hop he crossed the room, his uniform-skirt swishing slightly. Yuki couldn't help but smile slight, as the whole argument about the article of clothing popped back into his head. But as soon as Kyo's involvement was realized, the smile vanished.

"Yuki-kun?"

Momiji's voice squeaked with worry.

"It's… nothing really."

That was all it took, the blond smiled and nodded and began to ramble about his day at school, and how he had missed Yuki "' sooooooooooooo'" much. Yuki watched in amusement as the boy ran about the living room, reenacting all the amazing scenes from that school day.

Unfortunately the break of worry did not last long. Only minutes after Momiji's arrival, Hatori's voice rang out from the back room,

"Alright, you can come in now."

Hatori's voice was much more placid than Yuki had ever heard it; it seemed to ring with a lack of emotion, a suppressed urge to scream, and a deadly calm. Even Momiji seemed to have noticed the strange undertones, for he stopped his chatter immediately.

Shigure bolted from his seat at the call, rushing to the door. Yuki was hot on his heels, followed by a questioning Momiji, whose voice rang with a small note of fear.

They walked through the narrow door in a single-file line, Shigure in front. They came to rest right by the door shoulder to shoulder, Yuki was glade of the comfort of Shigure's bulk, it seemed to give him a little more courage. If it was possible, Yuki thought Shigure looked even more tense then before. His jaw muscles were taunt, his eyes wide. With some nervousness Yuki turned to face what Shigure was staring at.

Kyo still lay on the table, though now, propped up. Tubes fed into his nose, and his mouth hung slack. Out of each orifice ran a thin trickle of blood. Yuki swallowed, his heart leaping to his throat, Kyo looked frail as if every breath could be his last. The machine he was hooked or buzzed softly as it forced air into his blood filled lungs.

On Yuki left he heard a small gasp. Momiji had obviously just noticed his relative as well. The sight of Kyo lying motionless on the table proved too much for the smaller Sohma, and, with a sob, he tore from the room.

Yuki considered going after him, Hatori's appearance and face alone were almost means enough to do it.

Maybe it's not as bad as it seems… maybe, Hatori is just tired… 

With these thought in mind, Yuki convinced himself to stay in the room, to hear exactly what was happening with his cousin, his roommate, his rival… his friend.

"Did you find out what was wrong with him? Will he be ok?" Yuki, asked, feeling the desperate words burble from his lips. Unconsciously, he leaned forward, body acting as if it were to move forward just enough the news would be good rather than bad.

Hatori walked past him, holding his blood-slicked hands out in front of him. With a sigh the older Sohma turned the handle on the large metal sterilization sink with his wrist, he slid his hands under the water and gentle rubbed them together, obviously bidding his time with the answer to Yuki's question.

"So… What.Is.Wrong.With.Him?"

Hatori slowly looked up from his now pink frothed fingers. With a heavy sigh he turned around, and grabbed a towel.

"I did some research, and found that this isn't the first time this has happened. Exactly three generations ago, two cat-spirits before our Kyo, there was an incident with the Sohma who was possessed by the cat. He came down with symptoms similar to what Kyo has now."

Yuki glanced at Shigure. The other man's face was contorted with shock, worry, and unvoiced questions. Yuki imagined his face must look much the same. How could there possibly be some contagious illness that only the cats could catch?

Shigure's voice broke through his thoughts, a deep troubled tone resonating through his question.

"What happened to the other one?"

Hatori looked away, and made a point of staring at the floor.

"There was nothing they could do. He died."

"And what about Kyo?"

Hatori finally looked back up, his eyes shadowed with pain.

"There… I don't think there is anything I can do… The way I see it, Kyo has about a week to live."

In that moment Yuki knew true despair. As if his heart would never lift again.

Kyo was going to die, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

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Mmmm chocolate milk… I bet my breath will be awful after I finish it! Oh and, I was going to ask, Should I make an alternate ending for those of you who would like this to not be angst? AND! Don't worry chapter three is already done, Ill post it on Saturday just to make you sweat.

TONY!!!2 (haha)


	3. laughter hurts

Ah sorry for the delay… I was repainting the upstairs of my house… Trim and walls! Plus we put in new carpet and redid the front stairs in stone! I'm so sorry! I'm covered in paint... I'm going to get paint all over my laptop…. Oh well its character! Enjoy the story! Oh and it was labor day.. and Im just a slacker! Hah!

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"Grim's a big bayyybe! Grim's a big bayyybe!"

The TV was quiet, but, due to circumstances, the house was much more so. A small laugh issued from the room, but soon lead into deep coughs. It had been only 16 hours since the news of Kyo's inevitable doom. No one had told him yet.

Hatori had decided that it would be unwise to rile him up just yet. With such a decision made, it had been decreed that Yuki, was not to see his soon-to-be late cousin.

Yuki had taken to haunting the hall outside of Kyo's current abode; a free room in Hatori's house. It had actually been Momiji's, but the young Sohma had been more than willing to give up his room.

The cynical voice of Mandy drifted into the hall. Momiji giggled, his small twitter accompanied by the harsh bite of Kyo's laugh. Yuki felt sick. With a shuddering sob he fell against the wall, every time he thought he had them under control, his tears would flood down his face; always triggered by the smallest of thing he heard from Kyo's room.

"I'll be right back Kyo-kun!" Momiji's voice dragged Yuki to his feet, pride not allowing his grief to show. As Momiji exited the room, his smile faded and he looked towards Yuki. With a small tug of his lower lips, he said, voice cracking faintly, " Why hasn't Hatori-san told him yet?"

The question was simple yet it took Yuki completely off guard. The simplicity in it's self was, completely mind-boggling. Why hadn't they told him? Every other Sohma knew by now that Kyo was going to die. So why then, was the dead man unaware of his doom?

"Yuki-kun?"

Momiji's voice was quiet, and Yuki realized, the small teen was crying. His thin face aimed at the floor.

"I… I don't know."

"Will you tell him?"

"Yes… I will..."

With a small nod Momiji rushed past him, whispering as he passed, "you should do it now"

With a nod, Yuki started for the door. The sinking in his heart causing tears to spring again to his eyes.

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Yuki entered the room slowly, feeling almost as if he did it slowly enough the cat wouldn't notice him, and he could be release from his horrible task. Unfortunately Kyo noticed him almost immediately.

Kyo looked sidelong at Yuki, a quizzical look on his face.

"Waddup, damn rat?"

_How do you tell someone they will die by the end of the week? Will he even believe me?_

Yuki shook his head slightly, unsure of whether it was in response of the question or simply to clear his head of the depressing fog that incased it.

On screen a drawer hit Grim in the face. Kyo laughed.

Yuki walked towards the bed. It looked nothing like he had imagined a deathbed to look like. The colors were warm, pinks purples and greens; Of course this was Momiji's room after all. A warm light shone from the window, and out side birds sang merrily.

_How can they sing? Don't they know there is a man dying?_

"_Why_ do you look like someone died? Did all of your fan-girls realize you suck balls?

_Die… die… die…. Die… die… someone died?_

Kyo's words rang through his mind, blocking out everything else. What would he do when Kyo died? Would he be able to continue to act the way he did? What about school? The empty spot at the table; the missing bickering of Uo and Kyo.

"OI! Yuki, you alright!?"

Kyo's voice sounded worried, slightly desperate. Yuki looked up, suddenly aware of the tears running down his face. He looked down, shocked.

"I-I'm alright. It's nothing."

Even to himself the assurance was weak. Certainly Kyo had seen through it. Would he draw the conclusion that Yuki was crying for him?

"Riiight, I'll believe that, as soon as Tohru stops being a ditz."

Kyo's eyes bore into Yuki's searching for something, Yuki was sure of it. Finally after a thoughtful pause Kyo spoke again,

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong with me?"

Yuki stared back, throat swelling with emotion. He had to tell him something; it wasn't fair to leave him in the dark. _ What if this was you? Wouldn't you want him to tell you what was wrong? Don't hide this from him, he isn't a child._

"You're going to die Kyo."

Yuki's voice surprised him; it was thick and husky; abnormally blunt as well. Kyo closed his eyes slowly, letting himself fall back against the bed. With a soft sigh, Yuki turned to leave, sure Kyo needed to be alone to think. With a sharp twist of his ankle he turned to the door heart heavy-

-Only to be stopped by the sound of a laugh. A deep laugh, a maniacal laugh. Kyo was laughing.

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Yeah its short, but the next one will be about normal length… I guess it's gonna be about 6 chapters long.

-Tony

PLEASE Review, and tell me what I did wrong.. I still cant shake the feeling that your all humoring me and this suck ass….


	4. if wishes were truth

Haha, your angered responses (also really quick) made me finish this quick. So here it is, enjoy this more than the last… though I personally think it is kinda… lacking… but I feel that way about all of them. 2 short chapters,, perhaps I should make them one…

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Yuki could only stare in a state complete confusion. Kyo had just been told he was going to die, and the strange teen had decided to laugh like a mad man. Words eluded him as he clutched at something to say to make the strange, disturbing laugh stop. Fortunately, his discomfort at the laugh didn't last long.

Kyo's laugh faded and he turned to complete silence. The tension was so thick; Yuki had the feeling he was choking on it.

Or perhaps it was the tears he was fighting to hide.

Kyo turned to have him, tears rolling down his cheeks. The look of sadness in his eyes was over whelming, and for the first time since they had heard of Kyo's ultimate demise, Yuki wished Tohru were there.

_She would know what to say to him. She should be here… taking care of this_ A harsher tone cut into Yuki's mind, sending shame coursing through his body, _Right Tohru should be here, suffering as she watched Kyo die, not you. You should be allowed to run away like you always do. Run like the-_

"You can leave you know…"

Kyo's voice was calm. Much too calm, it wasn't Kyo-ey at all. For a moment Yuki stared at him, only a tiny part arguing for him to stay.

But in the end, Yuki couldn't bring himself to stay at Kyo side. With one quick twist he shot out of the door, leaving Kyo alone.

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Kyo watched Yuki leave, anger and hurt lancing through him. He had expected at much, but it still hurt to know that even when the light should be shining on him, Yuki still managed to make himself the victim,

With a small grunt of pain, Kyo laidback on his pillows, his hand gripping his gut tightly. For hours how, it had felt like his organs were decomposing in him.

With Yuki's wonderful news, he wouldn't put it past his malfunctioning body.

We closed his eyes, wondering if the pain would get any worse. Kyo had never considered himself easily susceptible to pain, never once had Yuki, or Shishou's punches hurt him. But this pain was on a level he had never known could possibly exist.

He body burned, it felt as though his skin was falling off. His organs twisted, every single one, at every moment sending strange and horrific panges through him. He wasn't sure, but it seemed like walking on glass would be less painful.

Besides the burning aches there was the tastes. His mouth constantly tasted like blood, and the was rotting meat smelled. That fetid sweet odor, with a hint of putrid flesh. He supposed he should tell Hatori about the problem he had encountered in the bathroom that morning, but it wasn't really on his list of things to do. Telling anyone about the substitute of blood for urine and excrement, wasn't something he was ever going to do. Even if it could save his life.

_Which it can't,_ he thought bitterly. Yuki had already told him that he was going to die. Flat out, BAM your dead. So nice to have met you. Hope you enjoyed the ride dead.

The realization sunk in like a very sharp knife.

He was going to die. Never breath past Friday. Never see Tohru's face again. Never tell her about that secret thing. The emotion he had been hiding.

You're going to die. Can't you at least admit to yourself that you are madly in love with the girl?!

With another loud sigh, Kyo buried his face in his pillow. It wasn't like it mattered. Tohru would never see him in the same light he saw her. She had always wanted Yuki. Kyo was sure of it.

And now with me out of the way, there is nothing keeping Yuki from making her all his… 

Even the thought of the Rat touching he made Kyo hurt more than all of his physical wounds could.

Considering the pain he was in, that was a considerable amount.

With a soft snicker the suddenly drowsy cat rolled over, promising himself that he would live through this, if only to make Yuki claiming of Tohru harder than it should be.

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Tohru sat on the beach, her more than pale legs beginning to protest the glaring sun that enveloped them.

For some reason she hadn't been able to shake the feeling that something bad was happening back at the Sohma household. The feeling had been knotting in her stomach all afternoon. It didn't help that every time she had tried the house no one had answered.

Jokingly Uotani and said that it was because Kyo little fever was killing him, or that he had ruining his bleaching job by pouring too much of the crappy dye that he used on, and had managed to poison himself.

Tohru hadn't thought the jokes were funny.

With a soft sigh she climbed to her feet, and slowly made he way over to where their bags lay. Crouching down she began to dig through the bags, fingers groping for Hana's cell phone. When he fingers brushed to cool plastic she couldn't help but snatch it up.

Her heart pleaded with the phone to have a message. Just some small message from Kyo telling her she was a ditz, that she shouldn't worry. But when the screen flipped open there was a resounding no messages.

" Hey! Tohru! Lets get in the water! Stop wasting your time on the phone, they're fine, big boys can take care of themselves!"

Tohru turned to look at Uotani, smiling slightly as she realized that her friend was right.

Besides, it wasn't as if Hatori couldn't fix them if there was anything wrong.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It is so hard to breath with a cold and a broken jaw. My sister says that I droll a lot. And that I look like some retarded werewolf with a head-set thing that the kids with serious braces wear.

So I told her that she was fat.

Haha.

Ps- she isn't fat, she weighs 120 pounds. I weigh 155. So who's fat now???


	5. Dish water, and delerium

The walls were melting

The walls were melting.

He wasn't sure why, but they were. Drip after drip of plaster streaked down them like wax, and the bits that weren't trickling down to the floor were crumbling in on themselves; great chunks just breaking away. Oddly enough, the pieces didn't make a sound when the hit, nor was the room filling up with liquid wall; even more odd considering they never seemed to run out of liquid plaster. He had a feeling that if he touched them, they would stop their stream of droplets and return to a solid form. Unfortunately, as he went to set his foot upon the floor, to begin his journey though the sea of wax composed of paint and plaster; he noticed there was no floor, nor was their an ocean.

In their stead was a vast network of cables. Strange hues of reds and greens shot beneath him, lighting up his toes. Feint buzzing and crackling noises accompanied the lights, which were pulsing in time to the thrum the wires gave off. It was almost as if they were singing and dancing for him, a merry tune for merry lights. As he watched it suddenly struck him that they were waving at him, and with a small smile and a little twitch of his own hand, he waved back.

With shrill giggles, the lights leapt at him, changing from small blips of pigments, into fairies; all of which were now dancing all around him, planting kisses with delicate lips. He found himself laughing with them, the burbles sounding almost hysterical as he strived to feel like them. To feel the pleasure they were, and not feel the sickness that lurid pain accompanied.

Pain began to rock his body, shocks pricking through bone, tissue, and organs alike. In an act of defense his body began to tense, muscles locking into place as wave after wave hit him. He felt himself bending the wrong way, his back arching opposite the way it should, the fairies dispersed, becoming star-like as his vision faded to black. He could hear someone screaming. Just screaming, calling for help; utterly pathetic in their whimpering calls and pleas.

It wasn't until a wave of blood came out of his mouth, that the screams were silenced.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Haru's fingers ghosted over the coarse wood of the old cutting board, its deep groves catching on his pruned fingers. The smell of green apple soap wafted up to his nose, the ever-present smell of onions hidden by the artificial smell. He brought his hand down, enveloping it in the murky dishwater. It was the same thing he did every night, yet it seemed different, fouled even. The steady circles the sponge made, the soft squelltching of the soap as he pressed down on it. All of it seemed wrong.

With a soft sigh, he let the white-coated sponge slip from his fingers. With a muted thud it tumbled down the cutting board and slipped silently into the dark water in the sink.

It hadn't been hard to find out something was wrong, even though he had been hours late (a mystery) to visit Hatori, especially when his best friend/cousin Momiji had come tearing through the entry way in tears, his small back heaving with heavy sobs.

With a brief run through of the day's events, Haru had joined Momiji in a mad dash down the hall to check on Kyo's condition. The two hadn't really expected there to be anything wrong, Yuki was supposed to be watching him after all, but the slightly unreasonable need to see their relative pushed them into a careening tide wave of unchecked teenaged-boy furry.

Their feet had slapped loudly on the floor, almost in unison, as the lacquer tiles flew passed. Momiji had led the way, Haru following closely. They twisted through the house, sliding around corners, and knocking into table, walls, and each other. They flew through what Hatsuharu thought, must be nearly the entire compound, before Momiji threw on his metaphorical breaks. He smacked into his tiny cousin, and flipped unceremoniously over him, landing flat upon his back with a loud thud. For a moment they forgot about their rush, and laughed, Haru was only capable of a wheezing cough, but Momiji made up for it with his own cackles.

With a groan Haru flipped to his feet, rubbing his rump with his left hand, looking down at Momiji as he did. The smaller boy had smiled up at him, but it looked strained and unnatural. With heavy hearts they'd opened the door to the room fearing the worst.

Yuki had been nowhere to be seen. Kyo had sat motionless on the bed, staring in seeming wonder at the walls. His head had been cocked to the side, and he appeared to be watching something slide down them.

With a brief look at each other Haru and Momiji had walked over to him, but he didn't avert his eyes from the wall as they approached.

"Kyo?" Momiji had whispered, his voice wavering slightly.

The Cat still hadn't looked. Instead he'd held his hand out, and closed his fingers over the air, and then opened them as if he expected something to be there. Try as he had Haru could see nothing.

"Kyo?" Momiji ventured again.

Again, Kyo failed to respond.

"Momiji, I'm getting Hatori" With that Hatsuharu had sprinted out, and headed down the hall to Hatori's study. He hadn't made it.

As soon as he rounded the bend in the hall terrible screams had exploded from Kyo's room, and he'd doubled back, slipping on the floor as he did. He met Hatori at the doorway, and was roughly shoved aside as the older man had rushed to get in. A few seconds later, a blood spattered, and screaming Momiji had been thrust from the room, terror fixed on his delicate face.

Hatsuharu let his head hit the counter above the sink. He knew the screams were Kyo's, his gut wouldn't lie to him about that, but Momiji wasn't talking, and Hatori had locked down the rooms. Keeping himself inside.

With a loud sigh, he dipped his hand into the water, swirling his it around until his fingers locked onto the soft material of the sponge. His life was spinning out of control, he knew that. What ever was happening to Kyo, was affecting them all. He opened his eyes slowly, and was surprised to see the world was blurred. The dark dishwater in front of him was distant and watery as tears clouded his view.

With the knowledge of his own despair now apparent to him, Haru dropped the hard sought sponge, pulling his hand out of the water. He closed his eyes, feeling the tears slide down his cheeks as he turned away from the sink, sliding down to the floor, back to the countertop.

Hatsuharu shoved the meat of his palm into his mouth, and sobbed, hoping the barrier of flesh would keep the noise from leaving the kitchen, and reaching the eats of his already tense family.


	6. Ruses and Religion

I finally decided to try and pulled all of my chapter ideas together and finish this. I'm not all together with my writing style on this story, but I guess it's harder for me to write tragedy then I thought. Enjoy, and I mean no offense by this chapter. Really. Also, my insomnia is back. I've slept about 6 hours spread through out the last 3 days. WOOO! But it means more updates for you… which is nice… I don't really re-read them.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kyo sat placidly on "his" bed as the T.V. belched noise at him; the words and sounds completely garbled. He wasn't really listening to it, he seldom did (the most he ever paid attention to was the news). Colorful cartoon flashes flickered past his peripheral vision, but his eyes focused on the man in the corner of the room.

_The man who is supposed to be watching me, and isn't even paying attention…._ He thought sullenly, feeling a lot like a small child whose mother was busy talking to someone other than him.

He had been staring at Hatori, and the corner he was in for the better part of an hour. Since the beginning of his vigil, the doctor had only moved to turn the pages of the enormous tome he was reading. The book looked to be the epitome of boring, but Hatori seemed completely engrossed in the pages he was poring endlessly over.

The older Sohma had been in the room ever since Kyo had woken up. So it was reasonable, in Kyo's mind, that the doctor would be able to answer the question of: "Where the hell are my clothes, and why am I naked?". Hatori wasn't talking though, he hadn't even acknowledge Kyo with a "good morning, happy to see you aren't dead yet, terminally ill boy." In fact Hatori was getting a zero in the "family care" section of his report card.

With a sigh, Kyo looked away from his source of entertainment and scanned the room. It was the same room that he had been brought to earlier. The sun had gone down; all that was left of it was a faint purple hue to the sky. Even that was almost gone. He let his gaze drift around the artificially light room, finding nothing out of the ordinary only a pile of sheets against the wall-

-A pile of sheets with suspicious red stains….

With a sigh, Kyo let himself fall back against the overly fluffy pillows, which sunk considerably with the force he hit them with. He roughly scooped the remote into his hand, and began to angrily smash the "channel up" button, not really looking at what was showing.

_Great. Hatori is freaking about some sort of attack that I had. An attack I can't even remember… _

He exhaled heavily, refusing to let the self-pity overwhelm him. He wouldn't give into this virus; People always said that half of illnesses were mental. There was no way he would let some fucking bacteria-thingy kill him. He glowered at the ceiling, a steely resolution marking itself in his mind. There was simply no way he could lose.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Yuki had been sitting outside for nearly three hours. It had been his task to watch Kyo, but he simply couldn't handle looking at his unconscious cousin. Besides nothing was going to happen to him, Hatori had given Kyo some medicine that was supposed to subdue the spasms.

He turned back towards the house, It was probably time he went back in. It had been a while since he went out, but Hatori was looking for a cure, and Shigure had left. Momiji wouldn't go into the room by himself, and Hatsuharu wasn't a threat seeing as he wouldn't get here until at least seven o'clock. Yuki took one last look at the starlight sky, and walked through the siding screen door. Slipping his shoes off, he tiptoed back towards Kyo's room. Every creeping step he took seemed to echo outrageously in the narrow hall. He slipped through the shadows, dipping in and out of the darkness, and freezing every time he heard something move. Hatori had trusted him with watching Kyo, if he was caught out here….

Needless to say, Hatori would be pissed. Yuki was beginning to think skipping out wasn't such a good idea. Muffled music and sound were drifting through Kyo's door. When Yuki had left the TV was off. He winced inwardly, wondering who had turned it on, and how dead he was going to be. With a deep breath he braced himself for who he was going to see looking at him when he came through the door.

The first person he saw was Kyo, staring irritated at the television, his right thumb angrily smashing one of the numerous buttons, at the sound of the door the cat turned to face him, an eyebrow quirked in question. Yuki gave him a quick smile, and suppressed an eye-roll as the other teen began to speak. "Where've you been hiding, ra-"?

Kyo was cut off from speaking, and blocked from view as Hatori swooped down on Yuki, venomously spitting out "You. Me. Talk."

He forced Yuki out of the room, empisizing the action with an "Out in the hall." Unciating every step with a word. The older man looked down right, well, Pissed as hell. Yuki had never seen Hatori so angry. Not once. And never had he been frightened of anyone other than Akito.

Hatori's face was twisted with anger, his knuckles white on the collar of Yuki's shirt. Before Yuki knew what was happening, Hatori had literally lifted him off of the ground, and smashed him against the wall.

"What the hell, are you thinking, Yuki?" Hatori was spitting on him, but Yuki was too terrified to care. He opened his mouth to speak, and couldn't form the words he needed to defend himself. Hatori's eyebrows furrowed even more.

" I don't need to hear some half-assed excuse. No one has ever asked anything of you, you selfish little fuck. But now, now someone close to you needs your help, and you run off to feel sorry for yourself!" He paused, swallowing heavily, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he looked as though he had calmed down some.

"This. Is. Not. About. You."

Yuki had never been so wrong about reading someone's expression. Hatori's voice was like ice, the words like the serrated edges of a knife. He let Yuki drop, but caught him before his knees connected with the floor.

"For once in you life, think of someone other than yourself. And hell, if it pains you so much to do that, just remember, Kyo will probably be dead by the end of the week."

Hatori turned on his heel, a quick 180, and with his back to Yuki said, "I'm going to make dinner. I expect you to stay with Kyo this time. You didn't find it that important to watch him last time, and we would have lost him if it hadn't been for Haru and Momiji. Remember that next time the strains of _caring_ get to you." With that, Hatori walked away, brisk steps quickly carrying him out of sight.

Yuki stood in the hall, hand on his throat, and with a small sob allowed himself to slide down the wall.

It took him a few minutes to make it back to his feet, and a few minutes more to erase the tears on his face. Yuki didn't understand Hatori's anger. It wasn't his fault Kyo was sick. It wasn't like he would have been able to do something. Besides, They hated each other. Kyo would die before he let Yuki help him.

"At the rate he's going, he probably would." He stated dryly.

He walked back into Kyo's room, and pulled up a chair to sit by the bed. Kyo didn't look at him, but continued to flick rapidly through the television channels. Yuki glanced at the screen, but his eyes soon couldn't handle the rapidly changing spurts of color. He pursed his lips and looked back at Kyo.

The cat slowly looked at him. "Do you normally talk to yourself when you walk into rooms?"

Yuki glowered at him. "No, I just, it seemed as though…shut up." Yuki glared at the ceiling, feeling foolish for his failed attempt at shutting the cat up with verbal prowess.

Kyo snickered, and went back to watching the screen.

Yuki turned his attention to what ever Kyo was watching, but soon last interest. Hatori's freak out still weighed heavily on his mind. Why was he so angry? Why chose to take it out on Yuki?

He had only been out of the room for a few hours, nothing bad could have happened in that time span. But then again it hadn't seemed like anything to bad was wrong with Kyo in the first place…

Kyo laughed loudly at something on the TV. Yuki glared at him again.

"Why do you keep staring at me like you want me to die?" Kyo snapped, not feeling the question was worth enough to look away from the TV.

"Why was Hatori so mad?" Yuki retaliated, blocking Kyo's question with one of his own.

The other teen sighed, and looked at him.

" I don't know for sure, but…Well I think I had some sort of attack, judging by the blankets in the corner. Why didn't you just deduce that yourself oh, brilliant rat-man?" Kyo's voice had gone from normal to sarcastic and offensive in two point five seconds.

Yuki was beginning to think he was fine.

Kyo went back to watching the TV, staring intently at the random images that flashed across the screen. There was indeed a pile of sheets in the corner, though why Hatori had left them there was a mystery to him. Yuki crossed his arms and stared at the wall. Kyo seemed content to allow his brain to melt; Yuki however wasn't interested in the TV, and wasn't interested in the wall. He was bored. With an inward sigh, Yuki dropped his head into the palm of his hand, and stared blankly at the wall. There had to be something to entertain him on it.

Yuki was wrong for the second time that night.

He had been staring at the wall for 15 long minutes, trying to find something to look at, but had had no success. The TV seemed to be failing Kyo again. Yuki ground his teeth. Kyo pushed random buttons on the remote.

_Knock Knock Knock_

The monotony was interrupted by a loud knock on the front door, Hatori shouted from the kitchen for Shigure to get it. Shigure made an amazing show of doing nothing to stop the incessant banging. The clock ticked loudly on the wall, Kyo coughed. The television screamed noise at them. The person continued to knock.

With a hard kick of his legs Yuki rocketed his chair out from under the table, glad for the excuse to escape. With quick jittering steps he left the room, glad for the interruption. At least by answering the door, he could do something other than sit listening to the annoying noises of the television. And wish that he had something mare to say.

Kyo followed at a distance, Yuki could hear the soft patter of his feet behind him. As he rounded the corner, the person knocked again, obviously reluctant to give up the opportunity to talk to them.

Yuki wrapped his slender fingers through the grove in the door, gently sliding it open. On the other side, stood a small mousish man, wearing a black pressed suit, his hair slicked back. It seemed as though he was putting forth extra effort to look appealing. Yuki thought that he was failing.

With a grin that he could only compare to a wolf the man began to speak, voice sounding like over oiled machinery. Too refine, to practiced.

" Hello, I'm Robert Atley, and I would like to tell you about the Kingdom of Heaven."

Yuki with held his grimace, already formulating the clever rejection. The sort that wouldn't allow for question. Something like " I would love to but we are currently eating dinner." or "I'm sorry, we were currently on our way out." But before he could squeeze one out Kyo plastered a slightly demented smile on his face and popped out an all to happy, "Sure, come on in!"

The man smiled, and stepped inside. Kyo motioned for them to follow him, and they proceeded back through the winding halls, trailing the carrot-top to his "room". Kyo disappeared through the doorway, and Yuki chanced a glance back at the man. He looked a little worried, but mostly excited to have found someone to listen to him. When they turned into the room themselves, Kyo had already taken his place under the sheets of the bed, and motioned for them to sit at the two chairs in the room. Only Yuki sat, Robert continued to stand.

The enthusiast motioned his hands drastically, as he began his explanation of why they should look into whatever religion it was he was advertising. Each movement was deliberate, punctuating almost every other word. Yuki rolled his eyes, as if rapid unnecessary movements going to attract Kyo's attention. For a while, even Yuki thought that the orange haired teen was buying it. Until he brutally cut in, voice steely, and cold.

" Have you ever been dead?"

With a small jerk of his head the man looked at Kyo, a confused look on his face.

"Well I- no I haven't died."

"Well isn't it safe to assume that you have no idea what the fuck you're talking about?"

The man stared at Kyo for another moment, it was if Yuki could see the cogs in the man's head turning as he tried to redirect the conversation.

"I may not have died," he said quietly "But if I were to die right now, I know that I would like to go to a better place…" his voice trailed off, the mask of happy-send-the-message-of-God-around-man completely gone.

"Wouldn't you like to know, that no matter what happens you have a home to go to, and someone who loves you no matter what?"

Kyo's eyes hardened, all note of good humor for the man gone.

"I am dying. A horrible, fucking death," his voice was rising, a shrill edge becoming more apparent with every word. "You know what's gonna happen to me? Ill tell you! I'm gonna bleed through every orifice in my body. But it doesn't end there, oh no, while that is happening I will be covered with sores that pop with the slightest touch, and lets not forget the fact that I'm coughing up more blood everyday!"

The red head's face was twisted with emotion, Yuki couldn't tell if it was sadness, anger, pain, or something else.

"What part of the previous statement made you think that I'm buying your, "Jesus saves" routine? I'm past being saved. And frankly, if there is some entity out there that would let something like this happen, why would I want to die and go to its goddamn doorstep? So you know what, call down your so-called savior, and whip me up a cure! Do that and I will crawl on my hands and knees to the next temple and throw myself in to become a priest or some shit like that."

The man stared at Kyo for a moment, a look of sadness on his face, then nodded slowly. With a small sigh, and a whisper of "thank you for your time, God bless you" he let himself out of the room; his feet scuffed the carpet as he left.

Kyo stared at the door for a moment, then turned his attention back to the flickering TV. Somewhere in the distant front room, Yuki heard Hatori bid the man a good day.

The door shut.

With a small glare, Yuki turned his attention to the now subdued cat. Unexplainable anger surged through him. Who did Kyo think he was? Calling that man in, then shooting him away as if he was trash?

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you do that?"

Kyo looked at Yuki, face unreadable. Yuki held his eyes, feeling his features contorted by rage. Before he could register what he was doing, he was crossing the room, feet slapping the floor loudly, and-

-And Yuki's hand connected with Kyo's cheek before he even knew he was swinging his arm.

Yuki's heart stopped. He had slapped Kyo, his sick, dying cousin; slapped him, as hard as he could across the left cheek. The slap had literally turned Kyo's face to the right; his cheek was already turning an angry red color.

"Kyo… I- I didn't mean-"

With a small laughing sob Kyo waved his hand in dismissal.

" I knew, I hoped, that if I pissed you off enough, you would finally stop tip-toeing around me… and treat me like a normal person."

Yuki couldn't help it; with a small laugh he embraced Kyo roughly. To his surprise Kyo returned the affection, wrapping his own arms around Yuki's back.

"I-I'm sorry" Yuki whispered, Kyo nodded relinquishing his hold. Yuki leaned back, remaining stooped as he studied his cousins face. It was tired, and pale, but a strange fiery glow still emanated from the orange orbs. This was Kyo, no matter what was happening. The ornery son-of-a-bitch that he had never finished feuding with. How could he have forgotten that Kyo wasn't gone yet? How could he have forgotten, that Kyo needed him, that no one should die while being treated like a child.

"I'm sorry Kyo, I just can't think of how to handle this I mean-,"

"Just don't treat me like I'm fragile. I vowed I'd beat you before I died, and I'm still going to do that. I'm still me no matter what my body happens to be doing. I'm still going to kick your ass, you damn rat!"

With a small smile Yuki straightened up, offering his hand to Kyo, who took it immediately.

"Is it a promise?"

"It's a promise."

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Is longer… I didn't edit it. So if you see problems, I will fix them… I'm just too lazy right now…

Tony


	7. a dictionary, and documents

Kyo's decision to live, was quickly re-thought

Sorry to anyone who was offended last chapter. I just need a plot device. I really have nothing against religion, as long as it isn't forced on me!

00000000000000000000000000000000000

Kyo's decision to live just to spite everyone was quickly being re-thought.

He stared at his bare legs, his pajama pants and boxers pooled around his feet. For the past hour he had been sitting on the toilet, not taking a serious bathroom break, but trying to quell the flow of blood trickling from his anus.

It wasn't just shiting blood that made him change his mind, no, it was the fact that he was shiting and vomiting blood.

At the same time.

The crimson stained his shins, and most of the floor. With a tiny sigh he wiggled his toes, the blood coated appendages making a soft peeling noise as they pulled free. He could have left the safety of the porcelain bowl, since he had grown accustom to the feeling of the blood beginning its escape from both ends, But Yuki's presence outside of the small room, and the though that Yuki knew what was happening, kept Kyo's rear firmly planted.

With a groan he felt the liquid begin its accent. Here came the Vomit. It that to be worse then the steady trickle of blood through his anus, just in the fact that half the time, as it left through his mouth, it also escaped through his nose. He imagined that regular vomit did the same thing, and really couldn't understand the girls that made themselves' puke to be skinny. He was a martial artist, and was accustom to physical discomfort, but whenever the bile came and emptied itself onto the floor, he couldn't help but let out a few strangled sobs.

Plain Air escaped first, as always the case. Small belching like noises, almost comical if they didn't have the retching undertone. Kyo tried to get some air in before his muscles spasemed, but was unsuccessful. The blood exploded up his throat, coursing and surging irregularly, it shot past his lips, splattering farther than before, hitting the wall and painting a grotesque mosaic. He gargled, tried to breath, and the thick blood shot through his nose, burning the lining and pulling the mucus along.

And then it was over.

Kyo gasped, sucking the air into his lungs. He was starting to think disconnecting himself from the breathing machine was a bad thing. He coughed, and inhaled deeply through his nose, sucking the now dangling mucus back into his nasal cavities.

Yes, this really was a put off to that whole "living" thing.

He sighed and grabbed his blood towel. He held it up searching for a still dry/clean place; then when one was found, he dragged it across his face, trying to clean himself up a little.

_You would think_, he mused, _that when you were dying you wouldn't care what you looked like… But that is bullshit. I know I don't want to be sitting on the crapper, soaked in blood when they find my corpse._

He stretched and let himself rest on the toilet back. He was going to be here no matter what he did. That part didn't really faze him. The thing that did was: what would happen next? What could possibly be worse than shitting the contents of your veins out?

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Yuki sat outside the bathroom door, listening to the sounds of Kyo having some serious indigestion. Since their encounter with the man yesterday (it was yesterday, midnight had past.) , they had fallen into a calm. They acted more like… Companions then enemies, Yuki couldn't say he minded it at all. He smiled slightly, and then looked back at the dictionary in his lap. Kyo had charged him with the pointless task of looking up the longest word in the English language with a dictionary.

Yuki hadn't liked the idea, but had obliged at any rate.

He now sat diligently out side the door, skimming through the pages as Kyo allowed his blood supply to seep out of him on either end. Yuki didn't want to say anything. Kyo was too proud to go for help; especially help on something like this. Though it might be bad, Yuki had decided that he would honor Kyo's wish for privacy, and allow him to vomit blood in peace.

Its like he said, it's inevitable. He is going to die no matter what we do…

Yuki sniffed, and blinked away the tears. Surrounding himself with the problem, acknowledging it, was harder than anything he had ever done. Yuki was a coward, he knew this. Stress was hard for him, ever since Akito….

He shuddered and shook his head.

Hatori had been right. It wasn't about him anymore. It was time he stepped up to the plate, and took a swing at the whole, _responsibility_ thing. He tossed his head to the side, knocking his hair out of his eyes. He was determined to be there for Kyo, like he hadn't been there for anyone else.

And when the time came, he would be there for Tohru. He would handle his grief, and be the shoulder she needed. Speaking of Tohru had anyone even call-

**flocci****naucinihilipilification**-flok-s_uh_-naw-s_uh_-nahy-hil-_uh_-pil-_uh_-fi-key-sh_uh_n_-noun-_

_Rare_. The estimation of something as valueless (encountered mainly as an example of one of the longest words in the English language).

Yuki smiled tipping his head parallel with the door so his right ear touched the fake wood, forgetting all about his previous thought.

"Found your word Kyo"

He heard Kyo grunt from the other side of the white washed plastic.

"No friggen way, liar."

Yuki smiled, "Yeah, I found it. In the "F"s."

"How long is it?"

Taking his head away from the "wood" Yuki dragged his finger along the bottom half of the word, softly counting out-loud as he did. After two miscounts, he finally got it.

"There's 29 letters."

Kyo scoffed indignantly from the other side of the door.

"Liar, I thought the longest was, like, forty-two. You just gave up!"

Yuki smiled, and read the definition. " Look-"

"Can't there is a waaaaalll."

"Fine, listen to this, I'm quoting from here, "the estimation of something as valueless (encountered mainly as an example of one of the longest words in the English language). "Haha, what say you of tha-"

"It said one. Find the others."

Yuki stared at the door, indignation plastered on his face; until he remembered that Kyo couldn't see it. He started to protest, but thought better of it as he formulated a plan. He grinned mischievously, if the cat couldn't see, how would he know he was cheating?

"Fine Kyo you wi-" He began in as convincing of a conceding voice as he could, but he was cut off by a flat,

"No cheating, use the dictionary." from the other side of the door

Yuki glared at the wall sullenly. This was going to be another long hour…

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Hatori browsed grimly through old Sohma medical records, primarily checking that of the cats. Unfortunately, the hatred towards the feline-cursed family members seemed to grow stronger as one went back, so finding anything was rather difficult. Not to mention, there wasn't really anything about what he was looking for. Not even the first symptoms.

Hatori dropped the papers he was perusing, and ran his fingers through his uncombed hair. He was tired, his eyes barely able to focus… Shigure had brought Kyo in the first time, about a week and a half ago. In the small amount of time that had passed that boy had gotten ten times worse, and was most defiantly dying. Kyo had been in his care for about four days now, and Hatori had found nothing. He let his head hit the desk and muffled an aggravated scream.

Kyo was running out of time.

He shook his head. He couldn't let himself continue on this way. Kyo may have been his prime concern, but to allow himself to fall ill would benefit no one. With a groan he pushed out his chair, and straightened his stiff spine. He had been hunched for hours, and hadn't even noticed his discomfort until now. Snapping his head from right to left, popping his neck Hatori stood. He would get some tea, he decided, and then finish this stack of papers. With a sigh he turned and left the room his hands on his lower back, arching his spine backwards to relieve some of his tension. A quick glance at his study wall told him it was a quarter past 4 in the morning.

He sighed; Kyo had now officially been in his care for four days…

The dark hall was completely quiet, not a sound came from anywhere. Not odd considering how early it was. Blinking rapidly to try and adjust his eyes Hatori slid silently, but quickly down the silent halls. Everyone was asleep. The past few days had been hard on every person who knew. They all felt like they were worthless right now. Even Hatori.

Unfortunately he wasn't directing him frustrations very constructively. Not a day ago he had taken his frustrations out on Yuki. Sure the boy was making himself a victim, and neglecting to take part in Kyo's recovery, but Hatori's outburst had been unreasonable. No matter what was happening, Yuki didn't deserve what had been said and done to him.

Using the small amount of light streaming through a hall window to guide him, Hatori stepped as quietly as he could over the threshold to the kitchen, hoping that he wouldn't wake Shigure up. The man was just as tired as he was, and he didn't even have a comfortable bed. Hatori had offered to give up his own, but, though Shigure usually jumped at the offer, he insisted that since Hatori was the doctor, he should get it. Which left Shigure on the couch, since Hatsuharu, Yuki, and Momiji were taking up the guest rooms.

Using memory to guide him, Hatori drifted towards the fridge, amazing himself with his ability to miss every obstacle-

Until his face collided with the fridge door emitting a loud _thunk._

Hatori cursed inwardly, hoping he hadn't woken anyone. No one else was close enough and there was no break in Shigure's soft breathing. So after a minute of standing in the dark Hatori deemed it safe to move again. He slid to the cabinet, hoping that by not lifting his feet, he would make less noise. It worked.

With a triumphant grin he took out a mug, and set it on the counter, now all he had to do was find a way to get the tea cabinet open, and find the one he wanted, then heat it up and not let the microwave "bing"…

"You can turn on the light you know. I'm already awake."

Hatori whirled around, squinting in the dark to see where Shigure was. The lights flicked on. With a growl Hatori covered his darkness-adjusted eyes, wincing with the sear of the artificial beams.

Shigure chuckled.

"If you're here," Hatori snapped, uncovering his eyes to glare at the slightly disheveled Shigure, "then who is on the couch, I know I heard someone…"

The other man looked tired, dark rings hung under his eyes, and his pajamas, a borrowed pair of Hatori's, were wrinkled, and sleep worn. He smiled slightly, eyes crinkling at the corners.

"It's Momiji. He couldn't sleep, and you were busy… so he came to me. You know that kid, he doesn't wake for anything…"

Hatori stared at his long time friend. Awed by the simple yet entirely out of character act. Shigure never did anything unless it benefited himself in some way. He had always been like this, as long as Hatori could remember; that was a long time.

The other man smiled at him, the lines around his eyes crinkling caringly. "Well you know, you got to be the stressed angry one, so I had to be the stressed, keep-everyone-calm guy."

Hatori smiled. At least, in all of the chaos, there was still someone trying to keep things cool. It was nice to know he wasn't the only one trying to keep things running; it was as if a weight was lifted from his back.

"Yuki still upset?

Shigure smiled. "By the way I just wanted to thank you for that. I have wanted to do that to him for a while… and to Kyo, but with a different speech. To answer your question, yes he is fine. A little frazzled, but at least he isn't ignoring the problem like he was."

He stared thoughtfully at the ceiling for a moment. Hatori grabbed his tea, and filled his glass with water as the friendly pause soothed the negative thoughts inside him. He slide the water filled mug into the microwave, and shut the stainless steel door as quietly as he could manage. He set the timer for two minutes.

"I'm going to go for a smoke. Wana come?" Shigure was looking at him again, licking his front teeth in a distracted manner.

"Why don't you sleep instead."

It wasn't a question, it was a demand. Shigure noted this and nodded slowly. He wasn't in the mood to argue, neither was Hatori. With a mutual understanding Shigure left the room, slipping down the hall to Momiji's-would-have-been-room. The microwave dinged softly behind Hatori, and with a swift turn he pulled the door open, retrieving his steaming mug. Grabbing his tea packet, Hatori left the kitchen, snapping off the fluorescent lights as he did.

He reached his study faster than he had reached the kitchen, having navigated the dark corridor once already. The only thing that slowed him was the light shining from under Kyo's door.

It was four in the morning, what was he doing still awake? Hatori pressed his ear to the door, grimacing as he braced himself for the gruesome noises he was sure to hear. He was pleasantly surprised to hear Kyo laughing softly. It was good to hear the teen laugh; at least he wasn't letting this kill his spirit. Smile marking his tired face, Hatori slipped into his study, and began to sort through the files again, spirit renewed.

It seemed as though everything he had already looked through could hold something he had missed. His spirits high, Hatori grabbed a random sheet, and took a gulp of his tea. As if it were a dues ex machina, his eyes locked onto the cat six generations before Kyo's medical file. What he read made him spit the scalding liquid out again.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Three hours later, Yuki was sure he had found the longest word ever. He had looked through the dictionary (skimming of course) about four times. And, though he hated to admit it, Kyo was right about there being a longer word. Though he was off in letter count.

The other teen was now lying comfortably on the bed, reading some sort of manga (Yuki couldn't really understand the draw to graphic novels, though he did read them on occasion) and looking very comfortable, with one leg draped off the side. He couldn't say he appreciated how quickly Kyo had transitioned from dying to relaxing. But who was Yuki to question the virus's actions, and how quickly it hit and ran?

"Ok Kyo, you win."

Kyo set his book aside and rolled onto his stomach, turning his question marked, pale face towards him. Yuki felt a surge of anger at the fact that Kyo had obviously forgotten what he had forced Yuki to do for the past four or five hours. He glared and Kyo gnawed his lip thoughtfully then smirked.

" Go for it, tell me the word."

"Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism" Yuki tried to spit the word viciously but stumbled on every section of it, his tongue tying its self in knots as he tried to pronounce the ridiculous word. He slurred the last bit, hoping Kyo didn't notice. It seemed he was in the clear. The only reaction Kyo gave him was a raise of his vibrant eyebrows, and a light twirl of his hand for Yuki to continue.

"It's…. 45 letters long."

He smiled up at his bed-ridden cousin, who was now staring at him with an odd, excited look in his orange eyes.

Yuki cocked his head to the side, wondering where the look was coming from, and if this were Kyo's "throwing up face" whether he would have time to get out of the way and not get coated in blood and stomach content. Kyo pursed his lips slowly, and made a sucking noise. Yuki began to scoot away, worried that what ever the carrot-top was doing, wasn't going to be very pleasant.

Then Kyo sneered, and began to laugh.

He muffled the sound by smashing his face into the pillow, but Yuki could still hear the heaving gasps. He was holding his sides, and rolling about, making an ass of himself in general. For the life of him, Yuki couldn't understand it. After a few minutes of choking, Kyo rolled to look at him, wiping tears of mirth away as he did.

"Guess what!" The cat cried tauntingly.

Yuki looked at him warily, then asked.

"What?"

Kyo grinned again.

"I beat you."

0000000000000000000

Aww. A moment. Look everyone, he did beat him, how nice.

Tony


	8. A god appears

The moment, Tohru could tell you, was exactly at 10:12, Thursday morning. She had just tried, yet again, to phone the Sohma's, when she swore she'd saw Kyo standing on the beach outside. She had dropped the phone immediately, and ran as fast as she could to the spot that she had seen him at. There was no one there, no footsteps in the area, nothing at all, nothing accept a light orange blob on the ground.

Only the limp form of a small, surprisingly orange, dead kitten. It was half curled, eyes shut, delicate little paws right next to each other like a stuffed toy. Its tiny mouth was parted, revealing tiny white teeth. A small amount of blood was pooled under it's head.

It had taken her three minutes to pack everything.

She thought about turning back, to tell Uo and Hana where she was, or why she had left. Thought about telling them to their faces, instead of a scrawled note tacked to the hotel room door, that told them she was hitchhiking her way home. But they wouldn't let her, she decided. They would tell her she was worrying for nothing, and drag her back to the beach. Hana and Uo meant well, but they just didn't understand.

_I'm not sure I do…_ Tohru thought, self doubt whirling threw her mind. But her resolve was strong. She had neglected to don't something once, and her mother… She'd never had the chance to say goodbye. Tohru decided that she wouldn't let herself ignore this. Even if it was just paranoia.

She allowed herself to smile as she pushed the hair out of her face. The cars weren't stopping for her, and the wind was annoying, but she would get there if she had to walk the whole way. Come hell or high water she was going to go through with this and get to Kyo.

The high grass on the roadside slapped her legs, making them itch, and she occasionally slipped on trash, but Tohru had been through worse. And if something bad was happening to Kyo, then this was nothing to be by his side. Though it would be easier to be at his side if she had her license. Tohru was beginning to think Uo had been right to try and push her into getting it. She could have waited for the bus, but that might have meant a run in with Her friends, and a delay. In retrospect it seemed like the 20 minute wait would have been better. But when she had seen that kitten…

Tohru shuddered, chills running down her spin, making her straighten her back. That kitten's body had scared her to death. With its weight combined with her guilt of going… she couldn't have waited.

Though, in her panic to make sure everyone else was ok, she had neglected herself. Hitchhiking wasn't the safest thing for a 17-year-old girl to do. Tohru let her smile fade. She could a ditz at times, but she still knew that there were some rotten people in the world. Hitchhiking was starting to seem like a bad idea…

The distant whoosh of a car woke her from her thoughts, and with a start she turned and help out her thumb, hoping the person would stop and that he-or she- would be going the same direction as herself.

To her relief the car pulled over, it engine humming happily. A young woman, looking to be about four years older then Tohru rolled down the window, calling out to Tohru in a course but kind voice,

"Where yah headed stranger?"

Her accent was odd, but Tohru really didn't care. She leaned forward and yelled her destination, hair whipping around her face as a car roared past. It was almost carried away in the draft.

With a smile the girl popped the lock on the door.

"What luck! Ill be able to take you most of the way there! I go to College in that area!"

Tohru thanked her; aware that her overly large smile was probably disturbing. With a little heave she threw her suitcase into the back seat and got in the passengers chair.

Perhaps this hadn't been such a bad idea.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hatori leapt giddily down the hall, the paper held tightly in his hand. He wasn't sure who he was going to tell, but he felt he would burst if he didn't. Like a shot he flew through the house, feet barely hitting the floor. He had to get outside and dosomething. The excitement was tearing him apart.

Before he knew it he was at the front door. With a laugh he flung it open letting the damp air wash over him. Like a blanket over a fire his happiness was extinguished. The erson he saw was the one person who would help Kyo, and the one that cared the least about him.

"Akito-sama" Hatori breathed.

A small rueful smile spread over the young woman's face.

"Why Hatori, why so glum?"

And suddenly Hatori knew. Only a miracle could save Kyo now.

0000000000

My twin(sister) is trying to convince me I'm gay. So what! I'm in touch with my Feminine side. I have 5 sisters (6 now… parents just had ANOTHER kid) I have to be! Does listening to Lilly Allen really make you gay!? She's hot, and she had a nice voice, and her lyrics are Bueno. Bah. Oh and because I like Fruba… so I like romantic comedies? Leave me alone! And I fail at life. Im sorry. Im sorry. Im So SORRY! Next chapter will have most of the Sohmas. And Rit-chan-San for good measure. Just cause no one can scream "IM sorry" like he can.


	9. A PSA!

A brief public service announcement to the readers of this Fan-fiction:

Dear readers,

The Author, Tony, would like to apologize for the delay in everything he does (Don't worry! It will be don't by Juuuuneee! *kicks self in face for LYING!*) He would like to console you it the fact that Winter Break is upon us, and the holidays are a wonderfully prolonged period of time where you don't have to do anything but write on you fanfiction, but alas, He cannot. For the Author [Tony] has forgotten his faithful flash drive and laptop, and has no way in which to convey his tragic story to you [the readers]. There fore, dear reader, he presents you with these sticks and stones, and a list of horribly offensive words and begs you to have at it. He would also like to note, that he has indeed read your reviews and assures you that it is his fuel, and that he[the Author] loves them dearly. But some Anti-Christ decided that all schools needed finals, and a certain retard (with two thumbs) (THIS GUY) decided that he would sign up for Psychology this term, so the Author [Tony] has not had time to answer you words of caring and critic, and death threats (UPDATE! Or Else!).

The Author [Tony] would also like to note that he cannot send his sister for the flash drive as she lives across the state and REFUSES to come home for the holidays as no one is there, and will instead come straight to our designated location (there she will partake in a large amount of alcoholic beverages [beer] and then spew them all over the place). The Author [Tony] would also like to bestow a baseball bat upon the readers to allow them to exact their vengeance upon his worthless head. So, Happy Holidays! And don't worry, the Author [Tony] has a high tolerance for pain, and urges you not to stop your vengeance even when his prone form is bleeding and has ceased doing any sort of activity that classifies him as alive.

Good day, and enjoy your seasonal feasts or whatever you crazy kids do these days,

Tony [the author] K.

The Author would also like to apologize for the brackets [Brackets]. He was entertained by those and the third person perspective.

He would also like to state that his good friend ,Ian, has decided to save the day and will break into the authors house to get the aforementioned flash drive, and therefore, the story.


End file.
